Yes

Any casual college basketball fan knows how difficult it is to win games, especially in the Big Ten where there is no easy out.

But if there is one team that can run the table through these final 10 games of the season, it’s the 2023-24 Iowa women’s basketball squad.

Superstar Caitlin Clark has led the team in just about every statistical category, and she always seems to deliver in the clutch, no matter how big the moment has been. In her most recent outing against No. 14 Indiana, Clark dropped 30 points, and the Hawkeyes came away with an 84-57 victory.

Slowing her down to less than 20 points is like stopping the Earth from rotating. It doesn’t happen.

Though Clark is the focal point of this Iowa squad, the main thing that separates this team from other star-studded groups in the country is how each Hawkeye knows her role on the court.

Each and every Hawkeye, from the stars to the reserves, fills a niche position that makes this team extraordinarily well-rounded. Gabbie Marshall locks in on defense, Molly Davis pushes the offensive pace, and Sydney Affolter is your hustle player. What more could you need?

Sure, LSU, South Carolina, and UConn may have better overall talent as recruiting juggernauts and NCAA Champions, but Iowa has the experience and the chemistry to compete with any team in the nation, let alone the Big Ten — and join those three as a historic program in collegiate women’s basketball.

The Big Ten is also experiencing a little bit of a down year as Ohio State, Indiana, and Iowa seem to be the only three teams capable of a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa’s demolition of Indiana left many fans convinced that the Hawkeyes could win out through the remainder of the regular season, and despite tough trips to Indiana and Minnesota left on the schedule, I expect Lisa Bluder’s squad to be 28-2 entering postseason play.

No

With the Iowa women’s basketball team up to No. 2 in the AP Poll and ripping through every opponent in its way, the Hawkeyes now have a target on their backs that will make it tough to remain perfect over the last 10 games.

It’s no question this team has clicked as of late, overcoming the early-season plague that was a struggle to find an offense when Caitlin Clark was not scoring, which kept a handful of games close and even led to that early loss to Kansas State.

With guard Kate Martin and Hannah Stuelke now fulfilling the “big three” role, the Hawkeyes are pretty powerful on both ends of the floor.

So it’s not one particular flaw on the team that I think opponents can expose to escape with a win. It’s just that perfect, and even near-perfect, basketball seasons are so tough to attain — especially in the Big Ten climate Iowa has left to endure.

While no one really expects, for example, 7-8 overall Illinois to come into Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 25 and take Iowa down, there are three remaining games in particular this regular season that put the Hawkeyes on serious upset alert.

At Maryland on Feb. 3, at Indiana on Feb. 22, and at Minnesota on Feb. 28 — three remaining battles such opponents certainly have circled in red Sharpie on their calendars, excited to welcome the Black and Gold to their homes for revenge.

No one is safe, and these three teams will be set on not only striking back for what Iowa has done to them this season and in years past but also on capturing a last-minute win to make a push of momentum for the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

Of course, even the greatest teams of all time have bad games. The 72-10 Chicago Bulls were just that — with 10 losses in the regular season. The Hawkeyes are no exemption. Solid teams have given them a battle in away games before, and the toughest road is yet to come.